Animal feeder

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for automatically feeding animals at a predetermined time is provided and includes at least one container for holding animal food and means for dumping the container at a predetermined time to cause the contents thereof to be discharged by gravity at a location accessible to the animal.

United States Patent 1191 Jenkins I ANIMAL FEEDER [76] Inventor: ChesterW. Jenkins, Ten Southfield Dr., Rolling Hills, Calif.

[22] Filed: Sept. 13, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 179,868

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.856,972, Sept. 11,

52 us. 01. 119/5144, 119/5111, 119/56, 222/70 51 1111.01 A011: 5/02 [58]Field ofSearch 119/s1.11,se,s1.14; 222/70 [56] 5 References Cited 1UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,538,413 1/1951 Chard 222/70 5] Aug. 28, 19733,256,861 6/1966 Giltner l19/5l.l1 2,435,729 2/1948 2,418,807 4/19472,538,421 1/1951 Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery Attorney-William E.Anders0n,.lames J. Hamill et al.

[57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for automatically feeding animals at apredetermined time is provided and includes at least one container forholding animal food and means for dumping the container at apredetermined time to cause the contents thereof to be discharged bygravity at a location accessible to the animal.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 1/ III I 11 SHEH 1 OF 2 IIIIIIIIIIIIQIIIIIIFIG.2

ANIMAL FEEDER The present application is a continuation-in-part ofco-pending application, Ser. No. 856,972, filed Sept. II, 1969.

The present invention relates to automatic feeding devices adapted tomake food and/or liquid available to animals at a predetermined time ortimes.

In order to properly care for animals, including pets such as dogs,cats, fish and birds, both domestically and in commercial establishmentssuch as pet shops, kennels, and veterinary facilities, it is necessaryto provide food for the animals on a fairly inflexible schedule and,except in the case of fish, to provide liquids such as drinking water ormilk. It is not practical to provide enough food and water for anextended period of time at one serving since the food generally becomesunpalatable or inedible if allowed to stand exposed to the atmosphereand insects for any duration of time, and certain dry feeds should notbe mixed with water until immediately prior to feeding. Moreover, toprovide the animal with several days servings at one time may cause itto overeat and become ill, a situation which is particularly true in thecase of fish.

Accordingly, it is normally considered necessary to arrange for someoneto be present at feeding times to prepare and provide the food and/orliquid to which the animal is accustomed. However, this frequentlypresents a serious inconvenience to the owner or caretaker who musteither arrange his schedule so as to be present, or who must engage theservices of another individual to serve in his stead. The problem arisesmost frequently in the case of owners of domestic pets whose plans wouldcause them to be away from home at feeding time and perhaps for severalhours thereafter. A common though undesirable solution to this problemat present is to impose upon a friend or neighbor, or to board the petat a kennel or veterinary facility. I

In either the domestic or commercial environment, therefore, there is aneed for an automatic feeding apparatus which places the food at thedisposal of the animal at the prescribed time without the need for theowner or care-taker being present. The apparatus may also be called uponto provide water as well as food either for drinking purposes or formixing with a dry animal food.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anautomatic animal feeding apparatus.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an animalfeeding apparatus which makes food and/or water available to the animalat a predetermined time.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentwith reference to the following de scription and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus showing various of thefeatures of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view, partially in section, of one embodiment of thepresent invention taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end view, partially in section, taken along line 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in section, of a second embodiment ofthe present invention and taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an end view, partially in section, taken along line 55 of FIG.4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view ofan alternate embodiment of one element ofthe apparatus shown in FIGS. l-6.

Briefly, the present invention, as illustrated in the drawings, is anautomatic animal feeding apparatus. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, theapparatus includes a housing 10 which serves as a frame upon whichvarious elements of the apparatus are mounted, as well as an enclosurefor such elements. Within the housing 10 a support in the form of acircular plate or disc 12 is mounted and keyed to a shaft 14 defining ahorizontal axis. The shaft 14 is connected to and driven by a motor 16mounted on the housing, and a timer 18 is provided which activates themotor 16 to cause a predetermined degree of rotation of the disc atpredetermined times. As illustrated, the disc is provided with threefood and/or liquid containers 24B hung in free swinging relation onspindles 22 extending from the disc 12. The swing arc of each container20 is within reach of a rod 24 which also projects from the disc 12 andserves as a stop which engages the container to impair its free swingingmovement in such a manner that, upon continued rotation of the disc 12,the container is inverted, causing its contents to be discharged bygravity at a desired point in the rotation of the disc. The apparatus isalso provided with a receptacle 26 for receiving the food dischargedfrom the containers 20, so as to place it within reach of the animal.Referring again to FIGS. Ii and 2,.it can be seen that the housing asillustrated is in the form of a generally rectangular box havingvertical side walls 28, end walls 30, and a bottom wall 31. A lid 32having a handle 29 is provided at the upper end of the housing and ishinged, as at 33, to provide easy access to the interior. The walls arepreferably made of rigid material such as plastic, wood or sheet metal.One side wall 28, the right side wall in the embodiment of FIG. 3, isalso hinged, as at 34, to permit the containers 26B to be removed fromthe spindles 22 by sliding them axially of the spindles for cleaning,filling, and the like. One end wall 30, sometimes hereinafter referredto as the front wall, is provided with an opening 35 through which thereceptacle 26 extends outwardly of the housing. The housing protects thecontainers 20 as well as the motor 16 and timer 18 from the elements,and precludes access to the food by the animal before the proper feedingtime.

The motor 16 is rigidly mounted on the inside surface of one side wall28 of the housing. It may be of any suitable size and preferablyincorporates a speed reduction to provide a minimal number of rotationsper minute. A motor of the type employed in rotisseries has been foundto be suitable.

The timer 18 is mounted on the inside surface of the side wall 28 of theframe adjacent the upper edge thereof and is electrically connected tothe motor 16 by suitable conductors 36. Means are provided forconnecting the timer to an electrical outlet (not shown) which providesthe power for the entire apparatus. In the illustrated embodiment, thetimer 18 includes a toggle switch having an exposed arm 38 whichcontrols its operation. When the timer activates the motor, the arm 38automatically moves upwardly to an on position; the motor is stopped bymoving the arm downwardly to the off position. Although the timer isillustrated as a conventional timer which is often used to turn lightson and off at a fixed time, the apparatus may also be provided with analternate form of timer more suited to this particular apparatus.

In the operation of the apparatus, the timer 18 allows current to fiowto the motor 16 at predetermined periods of time, e.g., ever eighthours. When the timer begins to operate, the switch arm 38 moves from adownwardly extending position to an upwardly extending position, andcurrent will be supplied to the motor until the switch arm 38 is againmoved downwardly. This downward movement and deactivation of thecurrentsupplying portion of the timer could be accomplishedautomatically by a suitable mechanism or circuit within the timeritself. However, because it is necessary for the disc 12 to rotate onlya small degree, i.e., approximately one-third of a complete revolutionfor each feeding, and because the extent of rotation must be fairlyclosely controlled to insure that one container, but only one, will beinverted for any one cycle, it is preferable that the operation of thetimer be controlled by the rotative position of the disc itself.

Accordingly, three trip arms 39 are pivotally mounted adjacent theirends on the inner surface of the disc 12, i.e., the surface opposite thecontainers 20. The trip arms 39 are formed of a relatively heavymaterial so that when they are allowed to swing downwardly about theirpivot into engagement with the switch arm 38 of the timer, they willmove the switch arm downwardly to the off position. As can be seen inFIG. 2, a pin 40 is provided adjacent each trip arm 39 which limits thefree swinging movement of the arm so that it will arrive at the vicinityof the timer in an essentially upright position. As the disc continuesto rotate, the center of gravity of the trip arm shifts sufficiently tocause it to swing downwardly and engage the switch arm 38, moving it tothe off position.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the disc 12 is shown tobe of circular configuration and of a thickness sufficient to supportthe remainder of the apparatus for rotation. It may be made of anysuitable material, although wood or composite board provides adequatestrength without an excess of weight and expense. The disc is providedwith a central opening for mounting on the shaft 14 of the motor, towhich it is suitably keyed so that it rotates with the shaft 14. Thedisc is mounted perpendicular to the shaft 14; thus, the plane ofrotation of the disc is vertical.

The disc 12 is further provided with two sets or series of holesextending through its thickness. The first series, comprising threeholes, is spaced uniformly a short distance from the outer periphery ofthe disc. The sec-- ond series, also comprising three holes, is locateda short distance fromthe center of the disc and at a lesser radialdistance from the center than the holes of the first set. Each series inthe illustrated embodiment lies on a circle having its center coincidentwith the center of the disc, and the holes of each are uniformly spacedcircumferentially from each other. The three spindles 22 mentionedearlier are located in the first series of holes. Each spindle isrigidly affixed to the surface of the disc 12 and extends outwardlytherefrom horizontally parallel to the axis of rotation of the disc. Thespindles, as illustrated, are of circular cross section and arepreferably made of stiff metal such as steel. They are threaded at oneend and are held in position in the holes provided therefor by means oflock nuts 42 on each side of the disc. The opposite end of each spindleis also threaded and is provided with a wing nut 44 for reasons whichwill become apparent hereinafter.

One of the containers mentioned earlier is mounted on each of thespindles 22. In the illustrated embodiment, each container 20 takes theform of a plastic bucket suspended at its upper edge from the spindleand, in this regard, the upper rim of each container is provided with apair of brackets 46 defining loops 48 which extend above the rim (FIG.7). The spindle is received within the holes defined by the loops sothat the container swings freely from the spindle. The wing nut 44mentioned earlier is then screwed onto the spindle to maintain thecontainer in place. Spacers 50 are carried on each spindle 22 on theoutside of the loops 48 so as to maintain the containers in a desiredlateral position on the spindle, thereby assuring their proper alignmentwith the receptacle 26 when thecontainers are inverted and theircontents discharged. The provision of the wing nut or other removablefixing means permits easy removal of the container 20 for cleaning-andfilling without having to dismantle the remainder of the apparatus. Thecontainer itself includes side walls 52 and a bottom wall 54 (FIG. 7).The side walls may be formed by a circular cylinder or by fiatintersecting walls.

If the container is designed to contain more than one type of food, orfood and water, a preferably liquidimpervious partition 56 provided asshown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 7. The partition 56 may take the form of a flator contoured wall dividing the container into two equal compartments,each of which can contain a separate food or liquid. The purpose and useof the partition will be discussed hereinafter in greater detail.

The pins 24 which act as stops are mounted in the second series of holesat the smaller radius, each pin being an equal distance from the centralaxis of rotation of the disc. These pins, like the spindles 22, extendin parallel relation to the axis of rotation of the disc and are held intheir respective holes in the rotating disc by means of lock nuts 58.Both the spindles and the pins extend in the same direction from acommon surface of the rotating disc 12.

The receptacle 26 from which the animal receives the food or liquid ismounted on the front wall 30 of the housing and takes the form of aninclined channel or trough 62 and a flat horizontal extension or tray 64at the lower end of the channel. The upper end of the channel 62 isplaced so that the food or water from an inverted container 20 will becaught by the channel and directed downward into the tray 64. As can beseen from FIG. 1, only the tray and the lower end of the channel extendthrough the opening 35 in the front wall 30 of the housing. Theremainder of the channel is contained within the housing 10.

In the operation of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3, the timer l8activates the motor 16, rotating the disc 12 in a counterclockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. 2. As a free swinging container 20 passesthe uppermost stage of its rotation, the lower portion of the leadingwall of the container engages the associated pin 24 referred to earlier.The engagement by the pin restricts the free swinging motion of thecontainer 20 so that, as the disc rotates further in a counterclockwisedirection, the container begins to invert or tip. When the rotationproceeds to a point where the leading wall of the container issufficiently inclined, its contents flow by gravity into the channel 62of the receptacle 26. Since the channel is inclined, the contentsproceed downwardly in the trough to the tray 64. At this point in therotation of the disc, or perhaps slightly prior thereto, the trip arm 39engages the switch arm 38 of the timer, moving it'to the off position,causing the operation of the motor 16 to cease until activated again bythe timer. When the timer is again activated, the procedure is repeated.With the present apparatus, three feedings can be accomplished withoutthe presence of a care-taker.

As previously pointed out, the containers can be provided withapartition 56 if desired, although this "is not necessary. When the foodsupplied to the animal is a dry feed intended to be mixed with water,however, the partitioned containers can be used to advantage by fillingone compartment with water and the other with the dry feed. When thecontainer is inverted, one container will empty and then the other sothat a mixing will take place in the channel 62 and tray 64.

It should also be appreciated that more or less than three containerscan be provided, and that not all need be filled with food. For example,the timer 18 could be set to activate the motor at fourhour intervals,first supplying water to the animal and then supplying food, or viceversa.

An alternate container configuration is shown in FIG. 7 and can beemployed advantageously in situations where dry animal food is mixedwith water. In that embodiment, the partition 56 is liquid-imperviousand extends across the container from one wall to another to form acomplete internal wall separating the container into two compartments aspreviously described. The wall is not, however, flat as in FIGS. 2 and4, but rather is contoured and includes a lower portion 70 which isdisposed at an angle to the flat bottom wall 54 of the container andextends upwardly approximately midway of the height of the container. Anintermediate portion 72 extends vertically upwardly a short distanceperpendicular to the bottom wall, and an upper portion 74 extends to thetop of the container while angling back in the opposite direction of thelower portion 70 of the wall. When used in the apparatus of FIG. 2, thiscontainer is mounted so that the lower portion 70 of the partitionangles backwardly away from the direction of rotation. The compartmentdefined by the partition and the leading wall of the container containsthe dry food and the compartment defined by the trailing wall of thecontainer contains a quantity of water. When employing this embodiment,the rotation of the disc 12 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed inFIG. 2 causes a tilting of the container until the dry feed isdischarged from the container. At this point in the rotation the taperedlower portion of the partition has not reached a horizontal orientation;therefore the water is momentarily contained behind-the partition.Further rotation causes further inversion of the container resulting inthe pouring of the water down the channel, washing the remainder of thefood from .the channel into the tray and causing a mixing of the feedwith the water to form a wet animal food ready for consump- I tion. Forsome food, it is not necessary to employ the contoured wall but merelyto keep the water and food separate until the pouring operation. If thisis the case a straight partition as shown in FIG. 2 perpendicular to thebottom wall and extending between two side walls is sufficient for theoperation of the device.

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate an alternate embodiment of the inventionwhich is intended to provide only a single feeding without reloading. Inthis embodiment, a housing 10a similar to that employed in FIGS. 1 to 3is utilized and includes an opening 350 in its front wall through whichthe receptacle 26a extends.

A rod or spindle 76 is affixed in a horizontal position at approximatelythe vertical midpo nt of the housing and mounted thereon for rotationabout the rod is a holder 78 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is inthe form of an open-topped bucket or container but whcih may also takethe form of a platform on which is supported a tray or the likecontaining food in edible form. If a bucket is used, it may take variousforms and may be partitioned as shown or may be a single compartmentcontainer having side walls and a bottom wall. The mounting of theholder is effected by means of a pair of brackets 80 which arepreferably integrally formed on the underside thereof and define a seatfor the rod 76 as well as a pair of fingers 81 which extend partiallyaround the rod. The brackets permit rota tional movement of the holderwith respect to the rod but also permit easy removal of the holder fromthe rod, as for cleaning and filling in the case of a bucket. Thebrackets are mounted on the underside of the holder 78 in offsetrelation to the center of gravity thereof so that it will normally tendto pivot about the rod and swing downwardly unless maintained in aposition on top of the rod as shown in full lines in FIG. 4.

The holder is further provided with a hook 82 which, in the illustratedembodiment, extends horizontally from that side wall of the bucketfarthest from the front wall of the housing 10a when the bucket is in anupright One end of the lever is provided with a ferromagnetic blocklocated in close proximity to the electromagnet 88, and the other end isprovided with an upwardly extending hook 98 having a shoulder designedto engage the shoulder of the hook 82 to form a latch. A spring I00biases the lever 94 so as to maintain the hooks 82 and 98 in engagementwith each other and, thus, maintain the holder 78 in a position in whichit straddles the rod 76.

In the operation of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 through 6, a holder78 in the form of a bucket is filled with the appropriate amount of foodand/or water and is placed in the upright position astride thehorizontal rod 76 at the location of the brackets 80. Alternatively,when the holder is in the form of a platform, a tray of food may beplaced thereon preferably centrally of the platform and off center ofthe rod 76. The hooks 82 and 98 are engagedto maintain the holder insuch position and to prevent it form rotating about the rod in acounterclockwise direction. The timer 86 is set for the desired feedingtime. At the designated time, the timer activates the electromagnetwhich attracts the ferromagnetic block 95, effecting rotation of thelever 94 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 7, releasingthe mating hooks and freeing the holder for rotation. Because of theoffset mounting of the brackets 80, the holder will rotate in acounterclockwise direction from the upright position to a partiallyinverted position shown in phantom in FIG. 4. In this position, when theholder is in the form of a bucket, the leading wall of the bucket restson the top edge of the channel of the food receptacle 26a and the foodis permitted to fall from the container into the receptacle. The bucketillustrated in FIG. 4 is of the partitioned type having a flat internalwall and two compartments, one for water and one for food. A singlecompartment bucket could also be employed, as could a bucket employingthe contoured partition shown in H0. 7. When the holder is in the formof a platform with a tray of food placed upon it, the platform rotatescounterclockwise (FIG. 4) until the leading or left hand edge of theplatform rests upon the top edge of the channel of the food receptacle26a, which causes thefood tray to slide by gravity from the platformdown the channel and outwardly of the housing, where it is accessible bythe animal.

In contrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus illustratedin FIGS. 4 through 6 is a oneshot feeder which must be refilled aftereach feeding. It finds particular application in the evening feeding ofdomestic animals when the owner is not able to be present at onefeeding.

The present invention has provided a unique apparatus for the automaticfeeding of animals without the necessity of the owner or caretaker beingon the premises.

While certain specific embodiments have been shown and described, itshould be apparent that various modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention. For example, whilethe containers shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 are inverted by means of rodsaffixed to the disc 12, such inversion could also be accomplished by asolenoid operated ram actuated by the timer, or through the use ofstationary pins mounted in a fixed position on the housing in spacedrelation to the axis of rotation of the disc 12. Also, the operation ofthe timer could be controlled by electrical contacts mounted on the disc12 engageable with stationary contacts mounted within the housing 10.

Various of the features of the invention are set forth in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for automatically feeding animals at a predeterminedtime with a liquid and a food, said apparatus comprising a frame, agenerally horizontally disposed spindle mounted on said frame, a foodholder pivotally mounted on said spindle and having two isolatedcompartments for carrying the liquid in one compartment and the food inanother compartment, a latch mounted on said frame adapted to releasablymaintain said holder in a position in which the center of gravitythereof is located laterally of the axis of said spindle, timer meansfor releasing said latch at a predetermined time to permit said holderto pivot about said spindle sufficiently to invert said holder and causethe contents of each of said compartments to be discharged therefrom bygravity, a receptacle positioned below said holder to receive thecontents of both of said compartments of said holder when it isinverted, and a housing enclosing said holder and having an accessopening therein allowing an animal access to said receptacle.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said holder issupported above said rod with the center of gravity of said holderlocated laterally of a vertical plane containing the axis of saidspindle.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said latch comprises alever pivotally mounted for limited movement about an axis in responseto said release means, said lever defining a hook, and wherein saidholder is provided with a surface adapted to cooperate with said hook ofsaid lever for releasably retaining said holder.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said lever includes aferromagnetic portion and wherein means are provided to create amagnetic field tending to create a force on said lever so as to causesaid lever to pivot and disengage the hook of said lever from saidholder.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein a walled housingencloses said frame and said holder so as to shield same from theweather, wherein an opening is provided in one wall of said housing, andwherein said receptacle includes a trough within said housing whichreceives food from said holder and communicates with a feeding traylocated outside said housing.

6. An apparatus for automatically feeding animals at a predeterminedtime, said apparatus comprising a housing and frame means, a generallyhorizontally disposed spindle mounted on said housing and frame means, afood holder pivotally mounted on said spindle, a latch mounted on saidhousing and frame means to releasably maintain said holder in a positionin which the center of gravity thereof is located laterally of the axisof said spindle, timer means for releasing said latch at a predeterminedtime to permit said holder to pivot downwardly by gravity about saidspindle sufiiciently to invert said holder and to cause the contentsthereof to be discharged therefrom, a receptacle accessible to saidanimal and including a chute positioned below said holder to receive thecontents of said holder when it is inverted, means abutting saidinverted holder to stop its downward rotation in a position aligned withsaid chute to discharge its contents into said chute and saidreceptacle, said housing and frame means enclosing said holder, saidlatch and said timer means.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which said means forabutting said receptacle is an upper end of said inclined chute whichextends through an opening in said housing and frame means to saidreceptacle which is exterior of said housing and frame means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE} CERTIFICATE 0F CCRECTIQN Patent N 3,754,527Dated August 28, 1973 Invent 1-(s) Chester W. Jenkins 7 It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 3, after "1969" insert --','now Patent No.3,646,9l3Column 3, line 8, change "ever" to -every-.

Column 4, line 13, change "ocntainer" to --container-.

Column 6, line 8, change "midpo .nt" to -midpoint-.

Column 8, line 9, change "rod" to -spindle.

Column 8, line l4, change "release to -timer.

Signed and sealed this 12th day of February 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR.

C M S Attesting Officer R HALL DANN Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-105O(10-69) USCOMM-DC 6037 8-P69 w u.s, covznnmsu'r PRINTING ornc: lass0-366-334,

1. An apparatus for automatically feeding animals at a predeterminedtime with a liquid and a food, said apparatus comprising a frame, agenerally horizontally disposed spindle mounted on said frame, a foodholder pivotally mounted on said spindle and having two isolatedcompartments for carrying the liquid in one compartment and the food inanother compartment, a latch mounted on said frame adapted to releasablymaintain said holder in a position in which the center of gravitythereof is located laterally of the axis of said spindle, timer meansfor releasing said latch at a predetermined time to permit said holderto pivot about said spindle sufficiently to invert said holder and causethe contents of each of said compartments to be discharged therefrom bygravity, a receptacle positioned below said holder to receive thecontents of both of said compartments of said holder when it isinverted, and a housing enclosing said holder and having an accessopening therein allowing an animal access to said receptacle.
 2. Anapparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said holder is supportedabove said rod with the center of gravity of said holder locatedlaterally of a vertical plane containing the axis of said spindle.
 3. Anapparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said latch comprises a leverpivotally mounted for limited movement about an axis in response to saidrelease means, said lever defining a hook, and wherein said holder isprovided with a surface adapted to cooperate with said hook of saidlever for releasably retaining said holder.
 4. An apparatus as set forthin claim 3, wherein said lever includes a ferromagnetic portion andwherein means are provided to create a magnetic field tending to createa force on said lever so as to cause said lever to pivot and disengagethe hook of said lever from said holder.
 5. An apparatus as set forth inclaim 1, wherein a walled housing encloses said frame and said holder soas to shield same from the weather, wherein an opening is provided inone wall of said housing, and wherein said receptacle includes a troughwithin said housing which receives food from said holder andcommunicates with a feeding tray located outside said housing.
 6. Anapparatus for automatically feeding animals at a predetermined time,said apparatus comprising a housing and frame means, a generallyhorizontally disposed spindle mounted on said housing and frame means, afood holder pivotally mounted on said spindle, a latch mounted on saidhousing and frame means to releasably maintain said holder in a positionin which the center of gravity thereof is located laterally of the axisof said spindle, timer means for releasing said latch at a predeterminedtime to permit said holder to pivot downwardly by gravity about saidspindle sufficiently to invert said holder and to cause the contentsthereof to be discharged therefrom, a receptacle accessible to saidanimal and including a chute positioned below said holder to receive thecontents of said holder when it is inverted, means abutting saidinverted holder to stop its downward rotation in a position aligned withsaid chute to discharge its contents into said chute and saidreceptacle, said housing and frame means enclosing said holder, saidlatch and said timer means.
 7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6in which said means for abutting said receptacle is an upper end of saidinclined chute which extends through an opening in said housing andframe means to said receptacle which is exterior of said housing andframe means.